Origins
by CaraChocoNougat
Summary: Constance has spend the last three centuries trying to find out why she is different. Having come to the conclusion that she is either a freak of nature or the last of a now extinct kind, she is surprised to run into a high school girl who finally has some answers... (Follows Canon as much as possible).
1. Chapter 1

**A very good day to whoever is going to read this story!**

 **I can't believe I'm dabbling in a Sesshomaru romance.**  
 **I've been a big fan of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's always been a particular favourite, but he's such a pain in the neck to make a romantic story for.. All kinds of OC's have been auditioning in my head for practically forever, but they never feel quite right to me.**

 **Personally I still think youkai ending up romantically with humans is a rarity in the Inuyasha universe and, although by the end of the 'fairytale' Sesshomaru has come to learn that there are good and even beautiful sides to humans, I just can't see him ending up with one.**

 **Apart from that I've always been a little bugged by the fact that there are such awesomely powerful youkai in the feudal era, yet none are left in Kagome's modern day... Soo I decided to delve into that and give it my own spin!**

 **In this story, I'm following the anime canon.. let's see if you can figure out which episode I'm tucking my OC into it ;)**

 **All credit for the Inuyasha tale goes to Rumiko Takahashi, I do not own a thing.**

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _My name is Constance Harris. Or well, that's the name my adoptive parents decided to give me. They found me abandoned in a seashore cave when I was a baby and, despite my peculiarities, decided to take me in._  
 _I say pecurliarities because, unlike 'normal' children, something about me appears to be slightly 'off'. Or so my ever evasive little brother John once told me. I suspect my pointy ears and overly large canines have some influence on that, not to mention the fact that I have a very strange kind of mole on my chest._  
 _The combination of these oddities and the superstitions that plague most people, have led to my parents keeping my existence hidden._  
 _Which is why I would've started this diary entry by saying something like: 'but my friends call me Connie or Stanzi.' if not for the fact that I don't actually have any friends..._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _Recently, we received an unexpected call from some pillagers, something not uncommon on these pirate infested islands, though they rarely ever treck this far land inwards._  
 _They threatened my family and I'm sure they would've hurt us if not killed us all, but my anger at them was so extreme that I quite literally turned into a vicious animal and ripped them apart. I'm afraid my family has been keeping their distance ever since, until my father gave me this diary. I suspect it's his way of apologizing that they can't help me, that they do not understand what I am and are even somewhat scared of me._  
 _Perhaps they hope writing will have a calming effect on me and prevent me from turning into a monster yet again?_

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _I know I should write more often, but I just can't seem to find the time to sit still long enough. I prefer to be out and about, running through the endless stretches of forest surrounding us. I brought down a Jaguar twice my size the other day, I'm ashamed to admit I ate it raw and absolutely loved it. I've never tasted anything so revitalizing in my life!_  
 _I'm pretty sure my family would cringe in horror if I told them..._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _It gets really frustrating sometimes that, despite having reached my eighteenth birthday well over a month ago, my parents still treat me like an infant. I understand it's difficult to let go of that idea, even I don't know why I still look like I'm only six..._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _John came home from his overseas education. I'm afraid our years apart have quite estranged us. he has changed a lot and I appear to have barely changed at all, at least physically. He dared make fun of me for not being feminine with my short hair, though he was quick to recoil when I accidentally growled at him. I can't help that my hair's so short, I wish it would grow..._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _I have decided to leave home and go in search of others like me, or whatever information I might find, about what it is that I am. I have come to accept that I am not human, though I will not deny that it took me a very long time to truly embrace this fact. Save for my few oddities, I appear human enough after all. Except yesterday, I no longer did. I woke to my mother screaming in fear, only to realize I had paws instead of hands. Father and John came to her aid at once and tried to protect her from me! When I eventually regained my human form they appeared astonished, but no less frightened. John said I was a demon from the pits of hell, mother no longer appeared capable of speech._  
 _Upon informing them of my decision, my parents seemed relieved and gave me the blanket they'd found me in and a book._  
 _They told me they had found it with me in the cave, I did ask why they never gave it to me before, to which they explained that the book was unreadable. Sure enough, the book contains strange markings, but it gave me something to pursue and so I have gone in search of a linguist who might be able to help me..._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _Being out in the open world isn't near as romantic as I'd pictured it. For other people's safety, I've learned the hard way that it's best to be mistaken for a boy. Easily enough done with my short hair and the overly large cap I tend to wear to hide my eartips. After going through a lot of trouble and people actually shooing me away from them, I finally managed to find a young teacher who told me the book's markings resembled an ancient language, he thought it could be Greek._  
 _Seeing as it's the only clue I have to go on, I joined a sailing crew on a ship headed to the port of Rotterdam, from there I'll make my way to Greece and see what I'll find along the way._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _To prepare myself for this months long journey, I hunted, ate and drank untill I could take no more. But, despite being able to go prolonged periods without any food or water, I wish we'd get there already!_  
 _Living in such close quarters with dirty, smelly, loud mouthed men for such a long period of time isn't doing anything good for my overall mood.  
_ _I've been feeding my rations to the captain's dog when no one seems to be looking, which has caused for the beast to follow me around the ship all day. Some of the sailors are starting to fall ill and, despite no one having figured out that I'm a female due to serious lack of personal hygiene, several are starting to eye me in a way that makes me itch to rip their eyes out. I hope we reach shore before we start getting a body count..._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _It's been a while since my last entry and I am now somewhere on the European mainland._  
 _I'm relieved to be on foot again and have found that, with concentration, I can indeed transform into some kind of dog. Though the only reflection I've seen was in a body of water, which remains a little vague. In this form I can reach incredible speeds, and this, including of course an obvious lack of money, has made me decide to travel without further vehicles._  
 _When I visit a town or village I still pretend to be a boy, both to avoid trouble and because their clothes are infinitely more practical than the corsets and dresses women tend to wear. Sure we wore dresses back home, but never anything quite as uncomfortable as what these women seem to be suffocating in. I'm currently lazying about in a tree, listening to the sounds of the night. I find it oddly relaxing to be on my own and to have the freedom to travel anywhere I wish.. perhaps I shall postpone my mission a little while longer._

* * *

 _Dear diary,_

 _I've finally come across something I absolutely can not stand! Cold, cold, cold.. snow may be beautiful, but good lord is it cold! I've never shivered so much in my life. We never experienced true cold on the islands, but this is ridiculous. I raced across countries for days without stopping untill I reached a warmer climate in the south, I'm never going anywhere near cold lands ever again!_

"Miss Harisu! Pay attention if you please, I'm trying to teach a class here. Being a straight A student does not give you the right to be rude during my teachings."

Closing the old leather bound diary with a delicate 'snap' she smiled an apologetic smile at her teacher and pretended to pay attention to the math problem he was explaining on the chalk board.

Why the balding middle aged man had gone into teaching was still a mystery to her, he most certainly didn't do a good job of making math understandable to the average person and, judging by the obvious signs of stress on his features, he wasn't even enjoying it.

Bored, she looked out of the window. She hadn't eaten in a while, perhaps she should go hunt when class was over. Glancing at the clock she realized she still had a little over half an hour to go and sighed deeply.

* * *

Kagome grit her teeth, these names didn't ring a single bell. Nibbling her pen in frustration she looked back down at her text book. _Why_ couldn't they be studying the feudal era for history class? At least _that_ period was familiar to her.

Thinking of the feudal era made her think of Inuyasha and she scowled. She should probably go back this weekend, but every time she thought of Inuyasha's misplaced anger at her over the Kouga thing she hesitated. Stupid, baka Inuyasha.

Suddenly, her head shot up and she looked out the window. She sensed a presence, somewhere nearby. Tentatively she tried to place it, it was definitely youki. Frowning, she scanned the classroom, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

She looked up at the clock, perhaps she could ask for a bathroom break. Fifteen minutes of class left, there was no way the teacher would let her go now, she'd have to wait it out. She shifted in her seat, how could such strong youki be felt here? In the present era?

Whatever it was, it couldn't be anything good...

* * *

When the bell finally rang she delicately placed the diary in its protective cover and put it in its special section in her book bag. Having thrown her math books inside without a care, she lifted the bag over her shoulder and stood up.

She was the last to leave the classroom and, as soon as she exited, immediately felt a pair of eyes on her. Looking to her right she noticed a group of four girls, one of whom was staring at her intently. She could've sworn she hadn't seen her before, but she was wearing the school uniform and was obviously friends with the other three, so there was no doubt she was a student here.

Shrugging, she head the other way towards the lockers.

She was just changing her shoes when the girl who had been staring showed up next to her, a wary kind of expression on her face as if she was afraid approaching her might end up being the last thing she ever did.

Constance finished pulling on her mary janes and straightened to place her school slippers inside her locker as she looked at the strange girl. She was pretty, pale skin, long raven hair and large brown eyes. "Can I help you?"

The girl looked her over, as if not quite believing that she was wearing the same outfit as herself or something.

A thought crossed her mind, but she deemed it unlikely. In all her travels, she'd met a few people who could tell she was different, that she wasn't human. But those cases had been rare and far between and usually they were older, with more life experience and a kind of zen lifestyle, like buddhist monks and such.

She noticed the girl's eyes darted to her nails, the ever long and sharp appendages were unfortunately rather difficult to cover up. Curling her hands away slightly, she picked up her bag and made to move away.

"What are you doing here?"

Raising a brow at the odd question she turned back around. "Have we met?"

The girl shook her head and narrowed her eyes.

"If you're after the jewel shards you can forget it."

Raising the second brow to match the first, Constance now gave the strange girl her full attention.

"Jewel shards? What jewel shards?"

"Don't play around with me, youkai. What other reason do you have for being in this school? I won't let you harm the students here if that's what you intend."

Constance blinked. Score one for the strange youngster, obviously she could tell she wasn't human after all.

Smirking slightly, she looked the girl over with renewed interest. She wasn't very tall, but quite slender. She looked like she was in good physical shape, probably worked out a lot or part of an intense sports club.

"Perhaps we should talk this over. Care to grab a drink?"

When the girl hesitated she snorted a laugh in amusement. "Don't worry, I won't bite. My name's Harris, Constance."

Still hesitant, the girl seemed to think over her options for a moment.

"Higurashiii!" Both girls turned to see an overly enthusiastic brown haired boy coming over. He came to a halt in front of them, smiling brightly.

"Higurashi! You're in school! Not sick anymore then?"

The girl named Higurashi started fidgeting a little uncomfortably, but smiled up at him.

"Would you like to go see a movie this weekend?"

"A movie?"

"Yes, we haven't seen each other lately."

The girl hesitated, looking away as if trying to come up with a good excuse to let him off easy. Constance leaned back casually against the lockers, watching the awkward scene unfold. She nodded to Hojo when he greeted her before eagerly turning his attention back to the black haired girl in front of him.

She remained silent for so long that eventually he spoke again. "Is Saturday a bad day for you?"

Her mouth barely opened to utter a reply when suddenly she was half tackled by two of the girls Constance had seen her with in the hall earlier. Eagerly responding in her place.

"She's going! Right Kagome?"

"She wants to go!"

Hojo's face lit up like a tree at Christmas. "Really?"

"Eh.. Hey!"

But Kagome's protest was fully ignored as Hojo waved his goodbye.

"Then this coming Saturday, okay?!"

Kagome pushed her friends off of her after Hojo had walked away.

"Hey, why'd you do that?!"

One of the girls gave her a determined look, almost as if scolding her. Constance couldn't deny the situation was kind of amusing.

"A normal guy like Hojo-kun is just right for you!"

The other girl thrust a finger in her face to emphasize their point.

"Yes! Someone stubborn and rough is not someone you should be seeing! Your future will be ruined!"

Kagome backed up slightly, obviously a little overwhelmed by the force of her friends' convictions. But the first girl wouldn't have it and grabbed hold of her, leaning her face close.

"You got that? You're definitely going to the movie!"

The somewhat awkward atmosphere seemed to go on for several minutes before the girl with the yellow hairband finally noticed they weren't alone and bowed slightly to Constance.

"Oh, hello Harisu-san. Sorry about the commotion."

Kagome turned to look at her friend.

"You know each other?"

Constance shrugged and pushed off from the lockers to stand straight again.

"Don't worry about it Eri-chan, it's quite entertaining."

Kagome gave her an odd look at her mentioning her friend's first name in such an informal manner, but Eri soon explained.

"Harisu-san is a senior, she sometimes tutors me to help with exams." Her face lit up and she looked enthusiastically at Kagome. "You should get some extra tutoring Kagome, with all your illnesses it would be a big help. Harisu-san is really good."

Constance smiled serenely at Kagome who was staring at her as though she'd just seen a pig fly by.

Yuka looked at her watch and tsk'd. "Ah, I'm going to be late!"

She grabbed Eri by the arm and started dragging her off. "Don't forget Kagome! You're going to the movies this weekend!"

Kagome stared after her friends, shaking her head before looking back up at Constance, eyeing her speculatively.  
Then she sighed.

"Well, let's go have that drink then."

* * *

They went to a quaint little coffee shop, neither speaking and the atmosphere slightly tense. Constance was mostly curious, it was after all very rare to encounter a human who realized she wasn't what she appeared to be.

The Higurashi girl seemed quite high strung though, as if ready to defend herself should the need arise. It was an odd reaction, normally when she came across someone who was aware of her, they showcased one of two reactions. Either they became scared witless and started praying to their god as if she was the devil incarnate. Or they became all scholarly and curious, wanting to find out what she was and where she came from.

It was the latter that always helped her gain a lot more knowledge of local myths and legends in whatever area she found herself at that time.

But this girl just seemed wary of her, almost as if she had had experience with non-human creatures before and had reason to be on her guard.

She shook her head, that was ridiculous, she'd wandered the planet for three centuries for goodness sake, she was the only one of her kind. And if there had ever been more, then this girl sure as hell had never met them.

They took a seat across from each other, a waiter soon asking them for their order. Constance leaned back in her chair, waiting for the girl to speak.

"So if you're not after the shards and you've been in the school long enough to tutor people, what exactly are you doing here?"

Constance thanked the waiter for her tea before looking back at the girl again.

"First off, it's quite rude that you haven't introduced yourself yet. And secondly, I have every right to go where I please, I owe you no explanation."

Kagome was slightly taken aback, but soon remembered her manners.

"I'm sorry, my name's Kagome, Higurashi Kagome. And I'm asking because in my experience youkai tend to be up to something, especially when they show up around me."

Constance's cup froze halfway to her mouth and she cast the raven haired girl an incredulous look.

"In your 'experience'? Are you saying you've met others?"

Kagome hesitated. "Well, not around here no."

Constance narrowed her eyes. "Where then?"

She shrugged, laughing uncomfortably. "That's a long story."

Constance leaned forward. "Time is something I have plenty of. Where have you met others like me?"

Kagome looked her over curiously after that adamant reaction, her eyes widening slightly when she came to a realization. "You've never met others have you?"

Constance frowned, then sighed and leaned back. What the heck, she had nothing to lose anyway, worst that could happen was Kagome ending up in a loony bin.

"No, I haven't. I've been travelling forever to find out more about myself and if there are others. I never found more than myths, legends and whispers of creatures that, if they ever existed, are now long gone."

She calmly took a sip from her tea before continuing.

"Your school's students gain access to the Tokyo library's restricted section, albeit under supervision. I enrolled because of that, though I can't say I've found anything very useful yet. I'd have preferred university really, but even after centuries I can only pass for seventeen."

Kagome looked at her in wonder. She couldn't imagine what it must've been like, not knowing who or what you are, trying to find clues around the world year after year. At least Inuyasha had always known he was a Hanyou, even if he was scorned for it, he knew what he was and where he came from.

Constance saw the pity forming in the other girl's expression and rolled her eyes.

"Well? Are you going to talk? Or do you intend to just stare at me all day feeling sorry for me?"

Kagome blushed and shook her head. "No, sorry."

"How'd you even know I wasn't human by the way?"

Kagome perked up at that and absentmindedly stirred her iced tea as she answered.

"Oh, that's easy, your youki is quite strong. You're not even trying to hide it are you?"

Constance quirked a brow, obviously not getting what she meant and Kagome shook her head.

"Nevermind." She bit her lip, then shrugged as if thinking 'what the hell, I might as well talk'.

"I've met other youkai in the past."

Constance stared at her with a 'no DUH' kind of expression and Kagome laughed.

"No, I mean literally, the past. I miss school a lot because I travel back in time.. it's why my gramps keeps coming up with exotic illnesses to cover for my absence."

Constance raised her brows. "You... travel back in time?" She was obviously sceptical, but decided to play ball anyway. "I've been in the past you know, weren't any youkai there either, if I even am one, I'm not even Japanese."

Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "Oh you're a youkai alright, though perhaps you'd call it demon? And I travel back to the feudal era, I'm not sure why there aren't any youkai left in this day, but I guess something happens to them between then and now." She thought for a moment before adding. "Or between then and whenever you were born, since they were gone already at that time it appears."

Constance thought this over for a while, the girl seemed to be ripe for the loony bin already. But honestly, she had nothing else to go on and it wasn't as if she appeared to be getting any older.

"Alright... let's say, for argument's sake, that I believe you. How are you going to the past? And why for that matter? You just leisurely study history as it unfolds for better grades or something?"

Kagome snorted. "I wish. I sort of ended up dragged there because of the Shikon no Tama and then I kind of shattered the stupid thing and now me and some others are working on finding the shards and putting it back together and all these youkai keep trying to take the shards and..."

"There are others who travel to the past with you?"

She shook her head. "No, my friends live there. One of them is a Hanyou."

Constance eyed her in a way that clearly conveyed she didn't understand and Kagome proceeded to explain about everything she'd experienced and learned in feudal Japan.

They weren't nearly finished when night started to fall and Kagome ended up inviting her over for dinner, which she accepted, though she didn't actually take anything besides water.

Apparently trusting her well enough, Kagome showed her the glass vial containing the two shards she and her friends had managed to collect not long ago, and she eyed them in wonder.

"So these are the shards you thought I wanted to take?" She looked them over curiously, as if slightly hypnotized by their pink glow. "They're odd, they seem to be... calling to me somehow."

Kagome nodded frantically and tucked the vial safely away again. "Yes, they grant power to the bearer and even wishes. But it almost always ends up in some kind of disaster." She sighed. "I think it's probably safer if no one used the jewel."

"So that's why you don't use it yourself?"

Kagome nodded. "I don't know, I guess it's my miko instincts warning me to stay the hell away from experimenting with it."

"And this Naraku guy was once human? and obsessed with your previous incarnation?"

Kagome nodded and Constance whistled. "That's some messed up shit." She laughed without humour. "Maybe all the demons are gone because that jewel of yours destroyed them all."

Kagome shook her head. "If someone would wish for all demons to be gone, I think the jewel would turn corrupt. It would be a selfish and harmfull wish. Such a wish would definitely have a backlash."

Constance shrugged. "Global warming?" She grinned sheepishly as Kagome snickered at her half assed joke.

By now Constance was convinced that, however surreal, Kagome's story must be true. Either that or she'd spend her entire fifteen years of life coming up with all these people and details of adventures she'd been on. And she didn't think anyone had quite that wild of an imagination.

"So..." She smirked as she casually leaned closer to Kagome. "how about you show me this well of yours?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Big thank you to those who reviewed / faved / followed!**

 **Selena's StoryTime mentioned that them being in school together is technically not possible, and being a bit of a nit picker myself I decided to try and iron that out in this chapter.**

 **Apart from that I personally prefer the Inuyasha anime in Japanese, so A) I tend to use some Japanese terms or sounds here and there and B) the dialogue I take from the story may not be exactly the same as the English version.**

 **I hope this doesn't bother anyone and if someone would like me to add a short lexicon to each chapter to explain the words used in it then I can do that, but I'm not going to bother unless specifically asked to do so.**

 **Here's chapter 2 :)**

* * *

Kagome sighed and leaned her hands on the well's rim. Constance looked at her hesitant form for a moment before staring down into the seemingly normal well's dark depths. She couldn't say it looked overly inviting.

When Kagome sighed a weary sigh, Constance looked back up at her. "You okay?"

Kagome looked up, her expression showcasing her doubt. It took her a moment to speak. "It's just that... Inuyasha's probably still mad at me. He's kind of the type to hold a grudge."

She sighed again and turned her head to look in the well with an annoyed expression. "It's no good. If I go back now we'll only fight."

Constance shrugged. "You have to go back sometime, right?"

Kagome appeared torn, but already turned halfway back towards the wooden staircase leading out of the wellhouse and into the sunny morning light.

This time, it was Constance who let loose a sigh. She'd waited this long, she could wait a little longer. Besides, she had no real guarantees that the other side of that well had any answers for her. Assuming it was going to let her pass through in the first place.

"I guess we could attend school first, but really, you can't stay here forever if you still want to collect that jewel."

A little mopey, Constance followed Kagome back out of the wellhouse. She'd stayed the night at the Higurashi shrine after having picked up her few belongings. It was funny how everything she owned in the world was still a smaller package than the backpack Kagome wanted to carry with her to the feudal age. Honestly the poor yellow monstrousity looked to be bursting at the seams.

Kagome remained lost in her thoughts as they head to the school together. When they arrived, Constance broke the silence before they'd have to go their separate ways. "Look, you let me know when you're ready to head back there okay? I haven't eaten in too long, I'm going into the mountains to hunt tonight."

Kagome gave her a strange look and Constance shrugged. "I already told you I don't eat cooked food." She bit her lip a moment. "I really do hope I didn't offend your mother by refusing to eat last night. She seemed remarkably cool with the whole youkai thing though."

Kagome smiled. "Yeah, my family's been great about everything." When the bell chimed she perked up. "Damn, we'll be late! I probably won't be returning today anyway, I'll let you know when I'm going."

Constance nodded as they hurriedly started walking into the building. "Okay, but I won't be having classes here much longer. I believe the high school's remodelling should be done somewhere next week."

Kagome looked thoughtful but smiled. "I'm sure I'll be heading back before another week's out. And if not, I'll just come look you up there. I won't go back without telling you, I promise."

* * *

The day moved at a snail's pace and, after it had finally ended, the rush she received from running free in the distant forests was a much appreciated distraction from having to wait to be able to go through that well.

She could try it on her own of course, but Kagome had mentioned that even she hadn't been able to pass through when she hadn't had the jewel shards in her possession. And she wasn't about to throw caution to the wind and steal the shards from her after having gained a moderate sliver of trust.

She hunted and ate with abandon and smiled up at the canopy of stars before falling into a peaceful sleep. She hadn't had such an interesting lead since she'd first started looking for answers.

* * *

When kagome told her the next morning that she'd be going back that evening, she couldn't suppress the smile that spread on her features. "What made you change your mind?"

Kagome smiled sheepishly, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "Inuyasha was in my room last night, he didn't wake me and he was gone when I woke but, I think he might be feeling a bit sorry after all."

Constance shook her head in amusement, it was kind of obvious the young woman had a crush on the Hanyou. Which explained why the Hojo situation had made her so uncomfortable.

The day appeared to move along even slower than the previous one, and by the time the final bell rang Constance rushed out and headed to the lockers, where she would be meeting Kagome.

Sure enough, Kagome was there. Standing awkwardly in front of Hojo, her hands placed together in a begging form of apology.

"Something urgent came up?"

"Un, so I won't be able to go to the movie saturday."

She lowered her arms and bent her head a little.

"I'm sorry."

The disappointment coming off Hojo in waves was almost palpable and he turned away dejectedly.

"I see..."

Apparently feeling bad for him, Kagome continued.

"But, you know. Don't worry about me. You should take that first year girl to the movie."

He looked surprised, but Kagome continued enthusiastically.

"She really seems to like you!"

"Higurashi.."

He turned back to face her with a smile.

"So silly. Were you worried about that?"

Kagome just managed a completely baffled "Eh?" As Hojo dreamily continued.

"I have no intention of going out with anyone else. I see though, this makes me kind of happy! Higurashi, you were jealous huh."

Constance couldn't stop an amused snort when she saw Kagome stiffen while Hojo enthusiastically waved goodbye.

"I'll ask you again! Bye!"

Constance walked over to stand beside Kagome, staring after the departing Hojo. "You know.. you could just tell him you're not interested in him that way."

She grinned at Kagome's flustered expression as she whined slightly before picking up her schoolbag.

"Moo, I get too tongue tied and he's too perseverant, the combination keeps making things weird."

Kagome still had her backpack lying ready from the previous day and, after getting back to the Higurashi shrine, they found themselves in front of the well in no time.

Constance raised a brow in question. "Do you always wear your school uniform to the past?"

Kagome looked down at herself and shrugged. "It's pretty practical actually."

Constance just shook her head in light astonishment. If she'd walked around like that three centuries ago, there was no question what kind of profession people would have thought she performed. Though, in her eagerness to get going, she hadn't bothered to change out of her uniform yet either. She figured she'd first see if the well let her through and then she could bother changing if the situation called for it.

Kagome grabbed her hand and smiled. "You ready?"

Constance nodded, a little nervous that the well would refuse to let her pass through. "Ready as I'll ever be I guess."

They both set foot on the well's ledge and jumped in together, Constance holding onto Kagome with a tight grip.

A strange blueish light encompassed them and, instead of landing with a heavy thud, they landed softly on the well's earthen floor. Kagome smiled broadly and Constance looked up at the blue sky in astonishment. Breathing in deeply through her nose she smiled while closing her eyes.. "Ahh, I haven't smelled such pure air in ages!"

"Welcome to the feudal era."

She opened her eyes and looked down at Kagome. "Great, I guess I won't need this anymore."

Kagome's eyes widened when Constance suddenly removed her hair, placing it in her bag and smiling back at Kagome when she was done.

Shrugging she lifted a hand and tentatively touched her pointed ear, clearly visible through the short, and somewhat messy, pixie hairstyle. "Caps aren't allowed in classrooms."

Kagome just blinked stupidly for a moment but then smiled. "I like it, this suits you."

Constance shrugged again. "It's always been this way. If I shave it off, it grows back, but never longer than this."

Kagome looked mildly horrified. "You've shaved it off?"

Constance laughed. "Well more like scorched, but I'll tell you about that later. How about we get out of this well first? As much as I love the smell of damp earth and decaying remains, I'd rather soak up some sun."

Kagome nodded and began the steady climb through the vines growing down the well's walls as Constance casually set off from the ground and jumped against a side before hopping out onto the rim, taking in her surroundings as Kagome dragged herself over the ledge.

Kagome groaned as she pulled herself up, making Constance look down at her with a small grin. "I guess this explains why you're in such good shape." Kagome looked up at her, smiling when she noticed the excited glimmer in her eyes. "Yeah, who needs a sports club when you can run around the feudal era all day right?"

She dusted off her hands and adjusted the straps of her backpack while Constance looked around at the forest and stuck her nose in the air, sniffing the area much like Inuyasha tended to do.

"Damn, I can smell so many unfamiliar scents here."

Kagome cocked her head slightly, curious what it would be like to have such a heightened sense of smell. Personally, she only smelled the scent of flowers on the wind.

She cleared her throat, effectively getting Constance's attention. "Look, I think I should go talk to Inuyasha first. We should probably work out this whole argument thing before I suddenly lay a youkai from the future on him. He tends to be a bit, suspicious of strangers.. If you know what I mean."

Constance dropped down from the well and sat on its ledge, nodding her understanding. "Okay."

Kagome hesitated a bit at that short response, but then turned around, took a deep breath and resolutely started hiking in the direction of the village.

Constance stared after the rather strange image of a school uniform wearing girl, with a massive yellow backpack, casually walking into the wilderness. She shook her head and smiled, looking up at the bright sky when the call of a bird drew her attention.

Who'd have thought she'd find herself in the past again? A past in which others like her existed. There could be so much for her to learn here.

She closed her eyes when a warm breeze caressed her face. She couldn't say she missed the smell of pollution, that was for certain.

She stayed like this a while, a sense of peace stealing over her in the sunny afternoon light.  
When Kagome still hadn't come back for her after what felt like forever, but what was probably a mere ten minutes, she opened her eyes and scanned the area again.

Too curious to find out what this half human half demon 'Hanyou' friend of Kagome's looked like, she decided to follow her. Easily tracking Kagome's scent through the forest.

"...were just worried about you!"

"None of your business, baka!"

"We were worried!"

Constance halted at the edge of the woods, looking on in astonishment at a bunch of people chasing each other while yelling loudly. A woman, monk and what appeared to be a small boy with a fluffy tail were trying to get away from a very annoyed, silver haired guy in a red outfit.

Kagome stood staring in much the same way, not too far from where Constance had stopped to take in the scene. She was soon joined by an elderly lady in traditional clothes.

"Forgive him. He's so excited, he's happy that you returned Kagome."

The elderly woman's eyes narrowed and she turned sharply to stare straight at Constance, who smiled a little awkwardly and waved as the woman took note of her appearance.

"This calls for the Kazana!"

"Just try and suck me in!"

The silver haired person, who was undoubtedly Inuyasha, jumped high just as the monk slipped. But when the elderly woman spoke, his attention was diverted.

"Who are you? Youkai!"

Constance winced when the momentary distraction caused Inuyasha to fall down awkwardly, taking the female and the fluffy tailed boy down with him and landing in a pile of tangled limbs on top of the monk.

Kagome, now having noticed Constance's arrival, stepped forward before the elderly woman could jump to any conclusions.

"She came with me. This is Constance, she's a youkai from my time and has never met other youkai before. She wanted to join me to be able to learn more about herself and youkai in general."

She waved Constance forward, who hesitantly took a step out of the trees only to come face to face with a very suspicious looking Inuyasha. He sniffed her and she frowned at his proximity. Though she couldn't help but curiously take in his odd appearance, especially those cute fluffy ears on top of his head.

"Keh, a youkai who's never seen youkai? What kind of bull story is that?"

Kagome set her hands on her hips and walked up to them sternly. "Inuyasha, don't be rude!"

He turned to her. "I'm telling you there's no such thing! She's after the jewel shards if you ask me."

Kagome gave him an annoyed look. "If she wanted the shards she could've taken them by now."

They were slowly joined by the other four and Constance remained quite still as they all scrutinized her. Eventually Kagome sighed and broke the slightly tense atmosphere. "Well, let me introduce you guys." She pointed to everyone in turn. "This is Kaede-sama, she's the local priestess. This here's Sango, she's the demon slayer I told you about. Miroku-sama is the monk who had his hand cursed by Naraku and this little guy." She smiled as the fluffy tailed, pointy eared little boy happily jumped into her arms. "Is Shippou, he's a fox youkai. I suppose you've realized Mr impolite over here is Inuyasha."

Constance nodded to each of them politely, making an affirming sound at Kagome's last statement. "Yes." She looked Inuyasha over curiously and couldn't resist taking a sniff herself. "So he's the hanyou right? You do smell quite interesting."

Inuyasha turned his head away sharply while folding his arms across his chest. "Keh."

Shippou's tail swished eagerly as he leaned forward. "What kind of youkai are you?"

Constance shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. How can you tell 'what kind' you are?"

Sango cut in, eyeing Constance with interest. "Youkai are generally classed by their true form. So you never even knew your parents?"

Constance shook her head. "I was raised by humans, I didn't even know I wasn't human at first."

This made Kaede mumble in amazement. "Humans raising a youkai, hm.. that _is_ odd."

Before Constance could reply, she felt her hands being enfolded and lifted by someone else's and she looked up into a pair of pleading brown eyes.

"Ojou-sama, would you do me the honour.." Constance blinked in surprise when suddenly a large rock was thwacked on top of the monk's head and Sango started to drag him off by his collar.

Kagome just waved a little awkwardly as if telling her to forget what she just saw. "Let's all head down to the village first shall we? We can talk about this there."

* * *

They spend the evening in Kaede's hut, asking questions back and forth while Inuyasha kept glaring out into the night from his spot close to the entrance.

Kaede had made broth, which Constance politely refused.

"So you're saying that somewhere between now and two to three hundred years, all youkai simply.." Miroku thought for a moment as if not sure which word to use. "Vanish?"

Constance shrugged. "It appears so, though I'm not sure if they all vanished everywhere at once. But I've traveled all over the world and never met one."

Kagome nodded to herself, staring into the crackling fire in their midsts. "It's true that, even though I have the shards with me, I never encounter any youkai there." She thought for a moment. "That weird flesh eating mask doesn't really count as one. And the only other one was the Soul Piper, but I guess you wouldn't see him unless you came across the ghost of a child."

Silence reigned as everyone appeared lost in their own thoughts.

Shippou edged closer to Constance and started sniffing her, making her raise a brow at him but smiling nonetheless. He was such a cutie.

He seemed contemplative for a while, and then slightly disappointed. "Hm, you don't smell like a fox to me."

Constance uttered a short laugh. "Why would you think I'm a fox?"

His tail excitedly swished back and forth again. "Cause we kind of have the same hair colour!"

She gave him an incredulous look. "You're a redhead. My hair's rust coloured at best and only some strands at that, I'm basically a brunette." She leaned closer to him. "Why are you so curious to know what kind of demon I am anyway?"

He smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"As a youkai you should have a true form, didn't you ever transform into it?"

Constance looked up at Sango and nodded with a casual shrug. "Sure I have. Scared my family half to death the first time it happened too, I had no real control over it then."

Shippou ended up leaning on her lap excitedly as he looked up at her with massive eyes. "Well, what is it?!"

Constance shook her head at his eagerness and grinned. "I look like some sort of demonic dog." She thought for a second before continuing. "Kind of resembling a very scary looking doberman, if you've ever seen one of those. My eyes turn red and everything."

She gave him a mock menacing look and he squeaked in terror, laughing as he ran back to Kagome.

Miroku seemed genuinely interested now and she even noticed Inuyasha glance her way casually, though he immediately averted his eyes again when he noticed her looking his way.

"A dog demon? Like Inuyasha then, that's interesting."

Constance blinked. "Really?" She looked over to where Inuyasha was sitting again. "So you transform into a dog too?"

Inuyasha frowned and stood up. "Keh." without further comment, he left the small hut and Kagome sighed.

Miroku just shook his head before explaining. "Inuyasha is a Hanyou, his father was a great dog youkai, but his mother was human. As such, he has no true form."

"Oh."

Constance couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for the Hanyou, her question had obviously hit a sore spot.

After a moment of tense silence, Shippou hopped back over to her. "Will you show me?"

Constance looked up from the floorboards she'd been unknowingly studying as her thoughts drifted. She grinned. "Sure, I'd like to stick around if that's okay with everyone?" She looked around the room quickly as if asking for permission, even though she kind of felt they had accepted her presence due to Kagome being the one who'd brought her in, before turning back to the little fox youkai. "I'm sure you'll see my other form at some point."

He pouted when he realized she wasn't going to show him immediately, making her laugh.

Kagome stood up and stretched. "I think we should head to bed." She looked at Constance. "You can sleep here with me if you like? I'm sure Kaede won't mind." She smiled at the old woman who was absentmindedly stirring her pot.

Hearing her name, Kaede looked up with her one eye and shrugged. "I don't mind child, but I do not think Konsutansu-san requires as much rest as you do. Am I wrong?" She looked at Constance who smiled.

"No, I don't really need to sleep. I slept quite well last night, I'm good for a while."

She turned back to Kagome as she stood up off the floor. "But you go get your rest, we can talk more tomorrow."

Before she could leave, Kaede spoke up. "Don't wander too far, if you truly have no experience with youkai, you might want to be careful for a while untill you learn how to deal with them."

Constance nodded before stepping outside and once again breathing in the fresh air that surrounded her.

She grinned broadly, feeling a sense of excitement coarse through her that she'd never really felt before. This was going to be a very interesting trip.


End file.
